Reports: Graceland Too owner dies soon after shooting and killing man

The Associated Press

July 17, 2014 10:18:54 AM

HOLLY SPRINGS -- A 28-year-old man was shot and killed just inside the door of Graceland Too, a 24-hour Elvis Presley tourist attraction in the northern Mississippi town of Holly Springs, authorities said Wednesday.

Marshall County Coroner Richard Anderson said Dwight David Taylor Jr., of Holly Springs, was pronounced dead shortly after police responded to a 911 call at 10:41 p.m. Tuesday. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports Anderson said Taylor died from a single, .45-caliber gunshot to the chest.

Anderson also confirmed the shooter was Paul MacLeod, owner and operator of the home-based attraction filled with Elvis memorabilia. MacLeod, a lifetime Elvis fanatic, gives tours of his antebellum home 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Clarion-Ledger reported this morning that MacLeod died just hours after the shooting, citing confirmation by the coroner. Coroner James Anderson told the newspaper that he has not released a cause of death yet, because McLeod is scheduled for autopsy today.

The Clarion-Ledger reports MacLeod's attorney, Phillip Knecht, said in a news release, that a man forced his way inside MacLeod's home, demanding money. Knecht said the two got into a fight when the intruder refused to leave, leading to the man's death.

MacLeod's home doubles as a monument for Presley and is open seven days a week. It's a popular tourist destination for college students in the area. It's a convenient stop for fans on an Elvis pilgrimage, sitting about halfway between Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo and the King's final home and resting place, the unaffiliated Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.